More on Transactional Analysis

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TA is a key tool employed in my Basingstoke therapy practice. In an earlier feature I explained the basic concepts of Transactional Analysis and the ego states. In this article I discuss unconscious scripts. TA therapists recognise that we all have the potential to live the life we want, rather than the life we are programmed to live. Sometimes, however, this potential is hindered by repetitive patterns or 'unconscious scripts' that stem from childhood decisions and teachings. TA therapists use script theory to identify these unconscious scripts. These will be analysed using the ego-state model, and their identification is crucial to helping clients realise how certain permissions and prohibitions they received as a child are impacting their lives and how they communicate. These unconscious scripts often exist as repetitive patterns of behaviour, thoughts and feelings - characteristics that suggest the child ego-state is overbearing and tainting other parts of an individual's personality. Transactions When individuals communicate, their ego-states interact to create...
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Why have therapy?

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The previous features explained what counselling and psychotherapy are (both are frequently referred to simply as ‘therapy’), and how counselling therapy works.  This article discusses a particular type of therapeutic counselling approach known as transactional analysis (TA).   It is an important ‘tool’ that is used in Hants Counselling therapy sessions in Basingstoke.  Transactional analysis was developed in the latter 1950s by American psychiatrist Eric Berne and hopefully, in reading this article, you may recognise certain emotions and aspects of human behaviour and, through this recognition, develop an appreciation of how counselling therapy might help you.   Therapy and the unconscious mind Before transactional analysis therapy was developed there was an emphasis on improving patients’ mental health by helping them understand their unconscious thought processes (the thought processes that run in the background and of which we are unaware – one example is driving a long way and on arrival being unable to remember the last half hour of the journey).  Transactional analysis developed...
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Counselling as a type of therapy

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  There are obviously many different types of therapy.  Counselling and psychotherapy are therapies which involve talking, usually one-to-one but sometimes in a group, with a trained therapist.  There is no legal definition of counselling or psychotherapy, and no clear distinction between them. This is why it is important to choose a therapist who is registered with a membership body accredited by the Professional Standards Authority; then you can be certain he or she properly qualified and insured to practise. How long will I need counselling? This is very much a 'piece of string’ question. Therapy can be short-term, to get you through a rough patch such as the breakdown of a relationship or a grievance at work; or it can be long-term, for example to deal with a traumatic incident or experience, either recent or in the distant past. The effect of trauma Few people get through life without some sort of traumatic experience, such as the death of a relative or friend, or...
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What are Counselling and Psychotherapy?

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Types of therapy Therapies come in many forms. Three examples are drug therapies, exercise therapies (like post-operative physiotherapy) and dietary therapies, like the Type-2 diebetes reversal programme. Counselling is a talking therapy since it involves talking, one-on-one, with a trained therapist. Psychotherapy is essentially the same, ie a specific type of counselling that focuses on emotional issues that are sufficiently distressing to be affecting someone’s wellbeing. What to expect in Hants Counselling sessions There is no better introduction that this, from the BACP itself: Counselling can take different forms depending on your needs and what type of therapy may be suitable. Most therapy takes place in planned, regular sessions which last for around 50 minutes. How often you see your therapist and how many appointments you have will depend on your individual circumstances, and will be agreed between you and your therapist. You might see a counsellor on your own, as a couple or family, or in a group with people who have...
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